Soap Carving

March 8, 2004 3:14 PM

What ever happened to soap carving? Soap carving has been around a long time, and is often quite beautiful, detailed or arresting. Still, it's surprising how often it's still suggested as a fun activity for kids, despite the involvement of sharp utensils. For more than 25 years, Ivory soap ran a national soap-carving contest as a public relations stunt created by the father of PR, Edward L. Bernays.
posted by me3dia (6 comments total)

And here are some amazing fruit, vegetable and soap carvings.
posted by me3dia at 3:15 PM on March 8, 2004

The reason they let kids do it is because its really easy to clean the wounds out, they've already got soap in them, just add water, scrub and scream.

Cool post though!
posted by fenriq at 4:54 PM on March 8, 2004

A couple of years ago, I inherited a tiny nude carved by my great grandfather in the 1920s out of Ivory soap. Ivory soap develops a great patina with age. I moved it to a damp clime and it began to deteriorate, though, so I can't display it any more. Too bad 'cause it's very neat.
posted by maniactown at 6:19 PM on March 8, 2004

I dreamt a funny dream tonight - that I was reading, on Metafilter : " I inherited a tiny nude carved by my great grandfather in the 1920s out of Ivory soap."

I woke up and rubbed my eyes - it was still there!
posted by troutfishing at 10:57 PM on March 8, 2004

We did soap carving when I was in elementary school. Ivory was mentioned as the best carving medium, so I suspect this was part of the Ivory-sponsored contest.

They were right, though. Ivory crumbles off with the knife, while Irish Spring peels apart and is easy to overcut.
posted by mmoncur at 3:17 AM on March 9, 2004

Criminals carving guns out of bars of soap likely discredited the practice.

That and, like, it's soap.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:50 PM on March 9, 2004